The course focuses on the rationale for government intervention in a market economy. The course begins with a consideration of market successes through the analysis of the first and second theorems of welfare economics. The course then considers market failures through an analysis of distributional issues, public goods, externalities, non-competitive market structures, and asymmetric information. Time permitting, some issues in the public economics of taxation may be covered. Prereq: ECON 201; one of ECON 211, MATH 106/125, 109, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 128, 136, 138, 146, 148
